Another year has passed, and it is time to look back and reflect upon the events throughout 2024, but also to look ahead to the new year, and the possibilities and opportunities that it may bring.
In early 2024 I set theme of the year to be “Health and Wellness – Aiming for the best health in 2024” and we sure managed to start many discussions on the best steps to take for better health and wellbeing. With 15 published blogposts, columns in “Aged Care Today”, the official magazine of the Australian aged care organization, Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA), our own Newsletter filled with articles, national and international conferences, openings of new sites, the anniversary years for both HUR (35 years) and HUR Australia (15 years), it’s been another great year!
We started the year with our webinar on Health and wellness, with Dr Tim Henwood discussing the power of exercise in maintaining the best health.
We have had many discussions with Tim in the past and there is always more to learn and discuss. You can find all the webinar materials, including the YouTube link, slides and additional materials here.
In my blogs I have covered stories from research findings, conferences, site openings and special events. In these articles I have covered all areas of aged care from residential aged care to retirement living and community care. There have been so many important and meaningful conversations, with many highlights, also including the celebrations of our HUR anniversaries.
The journeys of HUR 35 years and HUR Australia 15 years highlight the great success of an idea from a young engineering student, to global success, delivering the safest methodology for rehabilitation and ageing with more than 15.000 installations in five continents and more than 70 countries, with more than 300 installations in Australia included. We are so happy to be part of the global HUR family! You can read all my blogs here.
In April we hosted a special event in Melbourne. We were very excited to have the Ambassador of Finland, His Excellency Arto Haapea, join us at the Avanti Health Spotswood site. The City of Hobsons Bay has been the home for all Finns in Melbourne, after the Finnish Hall was opened in Altona in the 1970s. With the city being the site for the Avanti Health Club, as well as a seniors’ exercise park by Lappset, our event “Active Ageing the Finnish Way” was a true celebration of health and wellness for everyone!
As said by Arto in another column in the ACCPA magazine: “Finland has one of the oldest and most rapidly ageing populations in Europe,” he said. “As a society, we are taking action to promote and improve the functional ability of our ageing citizens so that they might continue to live independently and actively participate in their communities. We are delighted to see that as far away as Australia, Finnish health technology such as the equipment supplied by HUR and Lappset are being deployed to support active ageing in local communities”. You can access the full article here.
It has been a pleasure to continue as a columnist in the Aged Care today Magazine, the official magazine of ACCPA. This year my articles have covered all areas of the aged care industry, with articles ranging from residential aged care to retirement living, also discussing reablement, healthspan and strengthspan. In the most recent article, I share another conversation with Dr Tim Henwood, based on our many discussions on the important steps we need to take towards better health for everyone. We have been friends for nearly 20 years, initially meeting as PhD students, and share a passion for active ageing, always spreading the message of exercise as medicine.
You can read all my ACCPA columns via this link.
Our Newsletter 2024 also continued the health and wellness theme. In this edition we shared active ageing stories from Retirement living, Residential aged care, Community Care and 50+ Health. In the independent cover stories we celebrated our HUR anniversaries, share product News and also discussed how we can add life to years, rather than just years to life, with exercise. You can access this newsletter here, and all editions here.
One concept that gained attention after my Newsletter special story as well as online posts, was the Healthspan concept. I created this image, inspired by some recent articles, for my presentations, but also shared it online and in our Newsletter. The image started spreading with usage permissions requested from around the world. This just shows that this is a topic that we must continue sharing. The future includes quality ageing to all if we start planning for it now!
You can read my full article in the Newsletter, or an alternate version in this blog post.
As we get ready to start our holidays, let us look to the future. I have the theme ready – Positive Ageing. When we talk about the benefits of exercise, we refer to quality of life and positive ageing, leading to longer healthspan, offering us the opportunity to age the way we want to, doing the things we love. The theme has been seen in the publications of many of our clients, and we are very happy to let you know that a full conference will be set around the best principles towards Positive Ageing.
We are excited to be sponsoring this event, and I am lucky to have a speaking position as well. You can already find information and register to the event, with more information to be released soon.
It has been a great year with new sites, improved knowledge, great conversations, interesting conferences, success stories of client sites, and many lives changed for the better with the inclusion of exercise. As the year comes to an end, it is time to slow down and get ready for the festive season filled with rest and recovery, ready to start a new year filled with energy in just a few weeks. It will be a busy, but great start for the year, and we are looking forward to sharing more stories with you all.
On behalf of HUR Australia. I want to wish everyone a wonderful festive season, a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New year 2025!
Dr Tuire Karaharju-Huisman
Physiotherapist, Accredited Exercise Physiologist (ESSAM), PhD (Biomechanics)
Research Lead, Area Account Manager (Vic, Tas, SA)
